Facebook has taken the copycat approach by introducing a new location based feature that directly imitates Foursquare, one of the first location based checkin service. As usual, the feature invades the privacy of anyone using Facebook.

It seems contradictory that a social network would want to compromise the privacy of any of its users. Facebook has jumped on the trend with its checkin service; Places. The feature comes with a twist on privacy; users checking in to venues can tag their friends without their permission. This means if you’re trying to keep a low profile or are dissuaded by having your whereabouts broadcasted on the Internet to a potentially large amount of people, Places is not for you but you have no say in the matter. Facebook chooses what’s best for you by automatically enabling the feature. To turn it off, you’ll have to navigate their convoluted privacy control settings. What’s even worse; there is no notification about the new feature let alone how to turn it off. It’s unveiling has only reached us through word of mouth, a somewhat sneaky tactic employed by Facebook’s total disregard for user privacy.